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Night of a thousand starts >> Jean Brodie, sexy Shakespeare, Atlantis and surrealism open '99 by AMY BARRATT
Prime nostalgia Centaur ushers in 1999 with a dose of nostalgia. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was the first show ever produced at Centaur, 30 years ago. Jay Presson Allen's play was new then, the movie version not yet released. It's viewed as a chestnut these days, but when well acted, it's still a riveting character study. Patricia Yeatman stars as Jean Brodie, Eleanor Noble (Picasso at the Lapin Agile) plays impressionable student Sandy. Also look for playwright Alexandria Haber as the unfortunate Mary MacGregor, and Mo Bock (Taking Sides) as Lowther. Greg Wanless directs. To Feb. 7, 288-3161. Because of its familiarity, Brodie may turn out to be the hit of the year for Centaur. However, two premieres by local woman playwrights also deserve attention. Having, by Kit Brennan, runs February 16 to March 28, and Ann Lambert's Very Heaven is on the bill from April 20May 30. Don't forget Centaur's Walk on the Wild Side Festival (Jan. 2131), featuring non-kitchen-sink works such as Toc en Stock, a one-man clown show recently reviewed (favourably) in this space. Shakespeare in amour A young, sexy (judging by the poster) Roméo et Juliette opens tonight at Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. A new French translation by Normand Chaurette, directed by Martine Beaulne, it stars Isabelle Blais and Danny Gilmore as the star-crossed lovers. To Feb. 6; 878-7898. There'll be more Shakespeare in French when Théâtre du Rideau Vert presents Hamlet, translated by Acadian playwright Antonine Maillet from Jan. 26 to Feb. 20. TRV and TNM are sponsoring a joint contest: anyone who purchases tickets for both Shakespeare plays can enter a draw for free subscriptions to both theatres next season. Trouble in paradise At La Licorne, L'Atlantide is a translation of Manitoba playwright Maureen Hunter's Atlantis. It's about a man who goes to the island of Santorini looking for meaning in his life. There he meets a woman who the locals believe to be a goddess possessing magical powers. Needless to say, the villagers aren't too impressed when the stranger starts sleeping over at the goddess' place. The translation is by Michelle Allen, an accomplished playwright in her own right, and the director is Olivier Reichenbach, known to English audiences for his work at the Saidye Bronfman Centre. To Feb. 6 at La Licorne; 523-2246. Before answering machines La Voix humaine, by surrealist poet and renaissance man Jean Cocteau, is on the bill at Espace Go. The funny, heartbreaking Sylvie Drapeau takes the stage alone in this 1930 study of "the kind of love that people die for." The twist is that, in Cocteau's play, this immense passion has to somehow be squeezed through telephone wires. The production is directed by Alice Ronfard, who sometimes doesn't know when to quit, but she and Drapeau seem to work well together. To Feb. 13 at Espace Go; 845-5455. Plus... Prolific wonderboy Wajdi Mouawad is at it again: his latest, Les Mains d'Edwige au moment de la naissance, opens Jan. 15 at Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. A quasi-existentialist fantasy about a young woman whose hands bleed clear water when she prays, it looks to be yet another strikingly original piece by the author of Alphonse, Willy Protagoras enfermé dans les toillettes and Littoral. To Feb. 13 at Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui; 282-7535. Le secret le mieux gardé d'Amérique is the first of Momentum & friends' 12 theatrical happenings to count down the 12 months to the year 2000. All the shows will take place in unconventional spaces. This one is at Marché Maisonneuve and it's unclear whether it's a play or a ritual. Conceived by Yves Sioui Durand and Catherine Joncas, its message is one of "rapprochement" between Québécois and First Nations people. Jan 1417; 527-7202. A masterpiece of the jump-out-of-your-skin whodunit genre, Sleuth opens the subscription series at the Theatre of the Saidye Bronfman Centre, March 4 through 21; 739-7994. Finally, the first in a series of readings of plays by the wacky, wonderful Colleen Curran takes place at the McGill bookstore tomorrow night, Friday Jan. 15. El Clavadista launches the series presented by Triumvirate Theatre Co. at 7:30 p.m. Curran's adaptation of her novel, Something Drastic, will be read in two parts on February 12 and March 12.
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As of this week, the winter season, like the heat, is on full blast. Tonight (Thursday, Jan. 14) alone, four major theatres have openings. Here's a look at what's playing now and some theatre to watch out for in the coming months.